


Keeping You Safe

by hunthatten



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Artist Clarke Griffin, Clexa, Dorks, F/F, Nerd Lexa, Slow Burn Clarke Griffin/Lexa, They're both soft for each other, Werewolf Clarke, grunge!clarke, grunge!pastel, pastel!lexa, posh!lexa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-01 21:10:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16772989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunthatten/pseuds/hunthatten
Summary: Clarke knows her place. Lexa does not.





	1. 1

Lexa didn’t see what the crime was in enjoying color. So what winters in Connecticut were dark and cold and basically the most morose time of the year? To Lexa, that only justified her outfit choices even more, seeing as it wouldn’t hurt to add a little brightness to the dull, grey season. Today’s outfit of choice consisted of fitted light wash skinny jeans, a pastel blue long sleeve with a bright white cardigan over it, covered by her light grey snow jacket, and topped off with her snow boots. She did need to be practical after all. Lexa checked herself over once again in the mirror before heading downstairs. She grabbed her lunch, gave her aunt a quick kiss goodbye, and practically skipped out to her car, which, to Lexa’s dismay, was black. She wasn’t always this excited to go to school. In fact, she usually hated waking up early, but today was the first day back after winter break, and Lexa had felt idle for far too long. She was itching to be back around her friends and back into her regular routine. Switching between working out, reading, and watching TV had quickly become monotonous to the green-eyed girl, and she was excited for the distraction school would bring.

As she pulled up to TonDC High, she was met by an bored looking Anya who had a conversely energetic Raven attached to her. Lexa always thought they were a funny pair, with Anya being so stoic most of the time and Raven unable to avoid blowing up the chemistry lab every other week. Even so, she knew Raven made her friend happy, and that’s all she really cared about.

After parking and getting out of her car, Lexa proceeded to pull Anya into a hug, which, as usual, was unreciprocated. If anything, Anya only stiffened at the contact. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Lexa, or that she didn’t like physical affection; it was quite the opposite actually. More so, it was that she had a reputation to uphold. A reputation that was already quickly deteriorating due to her current relationship. She had to maintain what little of it she could.

“Alright, I get it. Enough hugging.”

“You’re so grumpy,” Lexa huffed, yet relented, turning to Raven and embracing her as well. When they pulled apart, she turned back to Anya, “It’s not my fault I missed you.”

“See, I feel like it is actually,” Anya retorted, only to have Raven elbow her in the side.

“Be nice.” Anya rolled her eyes, but said nothing more, and Lexa followed them into the school.

She waved to a couple of her friends as she made her way through the halls. When she got to her locker, red and dented just as she left it, she stowed her jacket and exchanged it for the books she’d need for the first half of the day. She’d turned to check her hair in the mirror she had hanging, her unruly chestnut curls often needing to be smoothed down, when she saw her. Now, it wasn’t as if Lexa was the most popular student in school, but she knew a majority of her peers from being involved in the yearbook and on the soccer team. She also liked to make the effort to get to know everyone, as no one had bothered to even look her way at her old middle school before she transferred and came out of her shell. Even so, whether she knew everyone in the school or just five people, there was no way she wouldn’t have noticed this girl before. She had shoulder-length cropped blonde hair that was dyed pink at the ends, which was the beginning and the end of any color within her appearance. She was dressed in all black, including a leather jacket, ripped skinny jeans, and leather boots. Lexa let her eyes trail over what she could see of her face. She could just make out the gentle curve of her lips, smooth and soft looking cheeks, and eyes so blue Lexa could see them from where she was standing down the hall. It wouldn’t be until later that night that Lexa realized her eyes matched her shirt that day, and her face would burn once again as it did when the blonde shut her locker and turned to look directly at Lexa, undeniably catching her staring. Lexa sputtered, not knowing exactly what to do, but knowing that she was immediately intimidated by this girl. She quickly closed her locker, fully intending on heading to her first class with her tail tucked between her legs, when she was pulled back suddenly and into the locker she’d just shut. She turned, expecting to find a smirking Anya behind her, but was mortified to find that she’d closed her cardigan in her locker, effectively leashing her to the spot. Cheeks burning, she tried to turn and free herself, but she only worked to tangle herself even more, her embarrassment growing by the second.

She heard chuckling behind her, followed by an unfamiliar yet pleasingly raspy voice asking, “Need some help?” Lexa looked over her shoulder to find the girl she’d just been staring at standing behind her, smirk in full force, blue eyes shining even brighter this close up, as they contrasted the dark eyeliner that she wore. 

“Um,” she stuttered, “yeah, help would be nice.” Clarke continued to laugh under her breath as she moved closer to where Lexa was stuck.

“What’s your combination?”

Lexa swallowed past the lump in her throat, “13-22-07.” Clarke made quick work of the lock, and in no time Lexa was free once more. She turned to her savior, still embarrassed but maintaining her manners, extended her hand, “Thank you for helping me. My name is Lexa. Lexa Woods.”

Lexa’s formality only served to deepen Clarke’s smirk, as she reached her hand out to meet Lexa’s, “How formal of you, Ms. Woods. The pleasure was all mine. My name is Clarke.” Lexa waited a moment for Clarke to say her full name, as Lexa was always taught to when introducing herself, but after a few moments she realized she wasn’t going to, and dropped her hand.

“So, are you new? I haven’t seen you around.” Before Clarke had a chance to answer, the warning bell rang and student began flooding by them. Clarke began walking past Lexa, and she thought the new girl wasn’t going to answer until she turned on her heel and walked backwards, saying, “Yes, Ms. Woods, I am new, and you are about to be late.” She turned back around and Lexa watched as she weaved her way through the crowd as smooth as of she’d be there for years. It took Lexa longer than she’d admit to make her legs move to get her to class on time.

Lexa struggled to pay attention through her first two classes, the blonde dominating her thoughts. Where had she come from? She must’ve transferred over break. There was no way Lexa would have missed someone like that otherwise.

These thoughts and more continued to swirl around her head as she entered her third period class, taking a seat near the middle of the room next to Raven, making small talk about how their days had been going so far. She heard the scrap of a chair being pulled out beside her, and she turned to greet whoever it was as she usually did. However, upon seeing Clarke once again, her greeting got caught in her throat, which had suddenly dried out.

“Long time, no see, Ms. Woods.” Clarke cracked a half smile as opposed to a smirk this time, and Lexa swore her heart might’ve stopped. She cleared her throat and forced her brain to start forming coherent thoughts again.

“Clarke, nice to see you again.”

Clarke laughed again, and Lexa fought to keep herself upright in her chair, “Are you always this formal, Lexa?” Hearing Clarke actually say her name really did make Lexa swoon, loving the way her tongue clicked on the ‘x’.

“Formality is the highest form of politeness.” Even Lexa cringed at how rehearsed she sounded, but Clarke only laughed more, and it did a lot to help Lexa relax.

She was about to speak again when Raven interjected, “Don’t worry, she’s not a robot. That’s just how she talks.” She reached across both their desks, “Raven Reyes. Nice to meet you.”

Clarke returned the favor, Lexa feeling the heat radiate off her skin, “Clarke, and the same to you.” Lexa offhandedly began to wonder if Clarke didn’t have a last name, but shook the thought from her head.

“Are you new? I haven’t seen you around,” Raven asked, mimicking Lexa’s previous question.

“Do you guys all know each other in this school?” Even though she was answering Raven’s question, albeit vaguely, Clarke’s eyes were only on Lexa. Their eyes met, and Lexa felt frozen, held there in every way except physically, Clarke’s blue eyes too bright, too intense to look away from. She did, however, when Raven cleared her throat.

“So, I’m assuming you guys know each other?”

Clarke smirked, “You could say we’ve met.” Raven’s eyes became wide at the suggestion, and Lexa opened her mouth in protest, but she was quickly cut off by the final bell and their English teacher, Niylah, starting the class.

Niylah took the time to welcome the students back after break, even asking a few of them what they’d done or where they’d gone. Granted, the woman was intimidating, she was also kind and genuinely cared for her students. After she’d talked with a good amount of her pupils, her eyes went to Clarke.

“Class, I know most of you may think this is juvenile, but I would like to announce that we have a new student joining us. Clarke, isn’t it?” Although she barely knew her, Lexa didn’t think Clarke could look more uncomfortable. “Ms. Griffin, why don’t you introduce yourself to the class?” At the sound of her last name, Clarke stiffened, just for a second, but still long enough for Lexa to notice. She wondered why, and if it was related to why she didn’t introduce herself with her full name before, but decided to put it away to ponder over later while she should be doing homework. Clarke sighed, but stood all the same, her usual relaxed disposition returning to her.

“My name is Clarke. I transferred from Arkadia High…” she looked to Niylah, as if it ask _Am I done yet?_

“Why don’t you tell us a fun fact about yourself?” Clarke had to hold back from rolling her eyes. They were seniors in high school, not middle schoolers. She didn’t even think ice breakers were a thing anymore.

Clarke sighed again, “Okay. My favorite color is,” and Lexa swore Clarke’s eyes flicked to her before returning back to their teacher, “green.” She gave Niylah a nod and sat back down. The teacher, seemingly pleased, announced that they would have a quick lesson followed by silent reading to help them get back into the swing of things.

Lexa was reading her book, actually interested in the assigned reading her once, when a small crumpled piece of paper landing on her desk. She looked to Raven, who motioned for her to open it.

_Are you doing the new girl??_

Lexa furrowed her brow, quickly crushing the paper back up, and looked at Raven.

_No_ , she mouthed, rolling her eyes at the excitable girl’s antics. Still, Raven raised her eyebrows suggestively, and leaned to look at the blonde in question. Lexa turned as well, only to find that, rather than reading, Clarke was sketching in the margins of her book. She drew vines of flowers wrapping around the words and in between paragraphs. Lexa thought it was beautiful, and immediately wanted to see what else she’d drawn, convinced that no one could make doodled flowers look that pretty if they didn’t draw regularly. Lexa watched her sketch until she saw her hand go still. Confused, she looked up to find Clarke looking at her, trademark smirk on her lips, one eyebrow quirked up in question. Lexa thought she looked all too attractive in that moment, sitting next to her in English class. She felt as though Clarke belonged somewhere more exciting, somewhere better than their small town.

Clarke’s initial smirk turned to an amused smile, and Lexa realized she was embarrassing herself again. She gave a timid smile, cheeks tinting pink, and returned to her book. Clarke, though, couldn’t take her eyes off the brunette. She was beautiful, with high, soft cheek bones, and sharp jawline, and supple-looking, full lips. Clarke wasn’t lying when she’d said her favorite color was green, considering she didn’t even have a favorite color before she saw Lexa’s eyes. They were just _so_ green, verdant really, and Clarke was hooked as soon as she saw them. She also found the girl’s hair endearing, her mane of curls unruly and seemingly untamable on her head a stark contrast to her very prim clothing and attitude. Clarke sighed. No matter how she felt about Lexa, it didn’t matter. Clarke didn’t have to know her to know Lexa was too good for her - it was written all over her. From Lexa’s bright smile to her equally as bright eyes, her colorful clothing. Clarke knew her place, and she knew to stay there. The problem, however, was that Lexa didn’t.


	2. 2

Lexa spotted Clarke again at lunch, seated outside on a bench by herself. She was baffled at how the blonde could even stand to be outside in just her leather jacket, as Lexa thought it was freezing. She took a breath, looked down at her tray of hot food, then over to her friends where they sat at their usual table, and made her decision. After spending a majority of her middle school years sitting alone, hoping someone would reach out to her, she swore she wouldn’t let anyone else feel that way. She’d hated that feeling of isolated loneliness more than anything, and a small part of her, deep in her chest yet undeniably there, wanted to make sure Clarke never felt that way.

Lexa shoved open the door and was immediately hit by a wall of cold air. Her thin cardigan did next to nothing to keep her warm, her winter coat stored uselessly in her locker, and she started shivering almost immediately. By the time she made her way to Clarke’s bench, grateful she had at least kept her snow boots on, her food was already cold and the brunette could no longer feel her hands. Lexa came up behind Clarke, ready to convince her to come back inside, when she turned, her azure eyes and furrowed brow showing how confused she was.

“What’re you doing?” It was now Lexa’s turn to be confused. She had been freezing as soon as she’d opened the door, but Clarke looked more comfortable out here than she had in class just two periods ago.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Lexa huffed through chattered teeth. “It’s freezing out here.”

“It’s stifling in there,” Clarke said, nodding her head toward the school. Clarke laughed at Lexa’s disbelief, eyes going wide and her eyebrows shooting to her hairline. Lexa had thought they needed to turn the heat up. “You should go back inside.” Clarke turned away from Lexa, sipping from her black tumbler.

“So should you. You’re going to get sick.” Clarke wondered if she was always this stubborn.

“I won’t. I don’t get sick.”

“Yeah, and I’m going to be valedictorian.” Lexa sat next to Clarke decidedly, and started eating her now cold lunch. Clarke clenched her jaw, feeling her teeth start to elongate and sharpen, and quickly drank more of her drink, glad she had bothered to make some for the day. It had been easier for Clarke to control herself in class with the mix of scents, most of them repulsive, wafting around. However, being out here alone with Lexa made it harder for her to ignore the girl’s scent. She smelled of vanilla and warmth and the fires Clarke used to lay next to with her parents as a child.

“So, why are you out here?” Lexa’s voice snapped Clarke out of her memories, bringing her back to the current situation. She sipped more, and turned her eyes to her new guest.

“I get hot inside.” Lexa thought she was being sarcastic and wanted to retort, even had one on the tip of her tongue, but refrained when she saw that Clarke was being completely serious. Instead, she made a sound of acknowledgement in the back of her throat, and continued eating. After a moment, Clarke asked, “Why are you out here?”

Lexa swallowed before answering, “People shouldn’t have to eat alone just because they’re new.” It was a fundamental truth for Lexa. Coming from the loneliness she’d experienced in her younger years, she was terrified of coming to a high school where she didn’t know anybody. Similar to her current situation, Lexa chose to eat outside, alone on her first day. Comparatively, albeit it was much warmer that day, Anya had come out and talked to her. She’d told her she looked like she was going to a funeral, as Lexa had become accustomed to wearing dark clothing so as to blend into the back ground of most situations. She’d figured it was better to just not be noticed rather than noticed and ignored as she had been for so long. Granted, while Clarke dressed more stylistically than Lexa had in her past, Lexa still felt the need to reach out to the blonde.

They remained in relative silence for the rest of the period, Lexa having finished her lunch and Clarke sipping from her tumbler while hoping that this wouldn’t become a regular occurrence. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Lexa. It was exactly the opposite. Within the short time they’d know each other, she’d genuinely enjoyed their time together, the girl’s bright personality doing well to contrast with the company Clarke usually kept. It was more so she didn’t want to hurt the seemingly happy girl.

The bell ring, breaking the quiet that had settled over them, and Lexa hopped up from her seat on the bench.

“It’s time to go inside,” she said, trying to keep her chattering teeth from interrupting her. Clarke stood and followed Lexa inside, expecting her to go find someone else to walk with, but to her surprise she slowed down so that she and Clarke were side by side.

“How are you not freezing right now?”

Clarke shrugged, “It wasn’t that cold outside.” Clarke’s internal temperature was much higher than Lexa’s, or any other human’s for that matter, so the cold had actually felt refreshing to her.

“See, you keep saying that, but it doesn’t make any sense. There’s no way you could be out there in just a jacket and not be freezing.” Clarke, however, only shrugged in place of an actual answer, and Lexa let the subject drop, more interested in getting to know the blue-eyed girl rather than keep pestering her about her apparent immunity to temperature. They both stopped at Clarke’s locker, and while she got the books she needed, Lexa asked, “Why did you dye your hair?”

“Why didn’t you dye yours?” Clarke didn’t have to word to say that she was tired of being the exact same as everyone else in her pack, that she longed to be different in at least some small, fractional way.

Lexa paused, “Why would I?”

“If you want to do something, then do it,” Clarke shrugged. “If you don’t, then don’t.”

“You’re really good at being specific, did you know that?”

Clarke put a hand on her chest, faking surprise as she said, “Ms. Woods! Was that sarcasm I just heard?” Lexa giggled as they made their way to her locker, and Clarke had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling too hard.

Lexa got her books and closed her locker, turning to Clarke, “So what if it was, Clarke?” The way Lexa said her name, how she almost over-annunciated the hard consonants while keeping the vowels soft, left Clarke not knowing what to do. The brunette’s suggestive tone only made the situation worse, causing heat to spread from Clarke’s cheeks down to the pit of her stomach. The blonde tried to stammer out a response – she prided herself on being smooth in these situations – but instead her mouth opened and closed uselessly, which did nothing but cause Lexa to laugh even more.

Lexa looked up and, seeing the clock on the wall, turned to go to her next class. She threw a “See you later, Clarke. Don’t be late!” over her shoulder before disappearing into the sea of students all making their way back from lunch. Clarke tried to swallow past the lump in her throat and regain some semblance of control over herself. She was Clarke Griffin, daughter of the Alpha, after all. She needed to start acting like it. Little did she know, that was part of the reason she’d failed to in the first place. Being the daughter of the Alpha only meant that everything about Clarke was enhanced, included the pheromones she gave off. The same pheromones that emboldened the usually shy girl to be as flirtatious as she was.

Clarke sighed, letting her shoulders sag for once with the weight of what her title meant. She leaned against Lexa’s locker, her scent still lingering there, and let it calm her. She didn’t know what it was about the green-eyed girl, but she worked to take some of the tension out of Clarke’s usually tightly wound self, and it was a more than welcome relief.

Lexa walked to class feeling lighter than she ever had. She didn’t know what it was about Clarke that brought out the audacious side of herself. If she was being honest, she didn’t even know she’d possessed that side of herself. The side that would let suggestion drip from their tone or throw a flirtatious remark over their shoulder. That just wasn’t who she usually was. She was polite and tame and chaste if anything. Her only other relationship had practically embodied all of those qualities before Costia moved away, and Lexa didn’t know how she felt about the switch. Granted, she liked Clarke, was oddly attracted to her, but they had just met hours ago, and Lexa didn’t know what to make of the apparent chemistry they shared. Shaking her head, she determinedly pulled out her notebook, trying and then failing to pay attention in class rather than think Clarke and the pink tips of her hair.

Lexa had been enjoying her daydream, one feature her and Clarke and things that would usually turn her cheeks pink, when her phone vibrated against her thigh, interrupting her train of thought and making her jump.

Anya, 12:43 – _Where were you at lunch?_

Well, she always was straight to the point. Lexa went back and forth between whether just lying to her friend would be easier than telling her she’d followed a new girl outside in the middle of January.

Lexa, 12:45 – _I was eating with a new student._

She went with neither instead, the message both ambiguous and truthful enough to assuage her. After five minutes with no answer from Anya, Lexa put her phone away and let her mind drift once again.

When her class finally ended, Lexa left immediately, trying to see if she could catch the blonde again in the hallway. To her dismay, she was nowhere to be found. It stayed that way for the rest of the day, and Lexa went home more disappointed than she’d admit. She went through the motions of doing her homework, watching tv with her family, and helping clean up after dinner, but her mind was still on Clarke. She didn’t understand why, but she couldn’t stop thinking about her. Lexa wished she’d at least gotten her phone number.

She sighed as she got ready for bed, pulling on a large sleep shirt, and making her way over to the window. One thing she loved about her small town was that the sky was unhindered by light pollution and the stars were almost always bright. She looked out, naming constellations to herself, when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. It looked almost like…a big dog of some sort. Lexa tried to find it again, scanning the wood line behind her house, but saw nothing. She shrugged, figuring it was just the dark playing tricks on her, and crawled into bed.

Clarke had no idea what she was doing. She wasn’t a stalker, had no right to be anywhere near Lexa without her knowing, yet here she was, laying down her scent all along the perimeter of the brunette’s house. Clarke didn’t know why she felt compelled to do it, just that she needed to make sure no nearby packs would try to come near the girl or her family. So Clarke rubbed against every tree, expelling her inner alpha as she went, and prayed that it would be enough.

When she was done, she took one longing look at Lexa’s house before darting back into the woods toward her own home, knowing if she didn’t leave soon enough she’d give into the urge to stay. She leapt into the window when she reached her house, changing back into herself before curling up in her bed and letting herself drift to sleep knowing that Lexa was safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for reading. As always, please let me know anything specific you want to see, or if you have any feedback on what can make the story better! I appreciate it! Also, sorry I took so long to post this. Finals/exams has made me really busy, but I'll try to be more regular with updates!


	3. 3

Clarke should’ve known what she was getting into, should’ve known from the second she looked into Lexa’s green eyes that she was in trouble. And if that wasn’t warning enough, she should’ve realized the situation as soon as Lexa refused to let her eat, or do anything really, alone. In the week since Clarke had laid down her scent to protect Lexa from other packs in the area, the brunette had sat next to Clarke in the class they’d had together, sat with her at lunch, and walked her to her locker. She even put her number in her phone “in case she needed help with school or… _anything_ ”, she’d said. Clarke had started bringing two black tumblers worth of her mixture just to get through the school day. She had no idea where the sensual side of Lexa was coming from, and neither did Lexa for that matter, but either way it did nothing to make Clarke’s transition into civilian life easier. Little did she know, it was her own actions that had spurred on Lexa’s behavior. While the potency of Clarke’s scent worked well to ward of members of nearby packs, it was equally as effective at putting Lexa into a nearly heat-like state. It wasn’t that she was sexually frustrated, but more so that she felt this almost undeniable magnetism attracting her to the blonde. Normally, this effect would last only a few hours, maybe a day at most. However, Clarke’s status and the fact that she was a true alpha enhanced these effects into lastly nearly a week.

Clarke sighed and sipped from her mug as she waited for Lexa. She’d stopped trying to avoid her after the third day, accepting the fact that Lexa wasn’t going anywhere. Not that she minded. She genuinely enjoyed being around Lexa, even in the state she was in. The girl was funny and sweet, and Clarke felt herself relaxing around her more and more. Clarke caught Lexa’s scent before she saw her, though it was slightly different today. It was more tame, sweeter almost. Clarke subtlety took a deeper breath of it in, wanting to be surrounded by it. She felt warmer as it filled her lungs, safer even. She shook her head. No, that wouldn’t be possible. It was one of their oldest laws, and one that hadn’t be broken for hundreds of years: Lycans were not to mate with humans. It was a rule rooted in prejudice, with Lycans believing that they were too superior to humans to breed with them, that had sadly persisted even after the new laws regarding integration into the human world were put into place.

Lexa touched Clarke’s elbow, startling her out of her thoughts and almost making her drop the tumbler she was holding.

“Sorry!” Lexa reached to help right the cup, “I had said your name, like, three times, and you didn’t respond.” She looked down at their overlapping hands and quickly pulled away, cheeks flushing a delicate pink. Even with Lexa’s recent behavior, the pair still hadn’t necessarily broken the touch barrier yet, and the contact felt far too intimate for a school hallway. She cleared her throat, trying to look less embarrassed than she felt, and asked, “Are you okay, though? You seemed really far away.”

Clarke thought of what she wanted to say, of how she wanted to tell Lexa of how the pressure she was under within her pack felt suffocating, of how she hadn’t ever felt as light as she did when she was around the other girl, of how she wished that the rules that bound her didn’t exist so that she could ask Lexa on a proper date. She thought of all that and more, but, looking into Lexa’s worried eyes, she settled for, “I’m fine. Just hungry.”

Lexa took the response for what it was worth, retorting with, “I’ll buy you lunch then.” Clarke tried to argue, but Lexa was already walking away, and a certain bounce in her step that made Clarke bite her cheek and follow.

“Why don’t we sit inside today?” The blonde’s raised eyebrows were almost enough to deter Lexa’s request, but in the end ultimately failed. She’d been sitting outside for almost a week straight, and she was more finished with the cold than she’d admit to the other girl. “Come on, it’ll be nice. We won’t have to freeze for once.” Clarke’s eyebrows went from raised to furrowed.

“Freeze?” She’d thought it was actually a bit warm.

“Yes, Clarke. Freeze. Anyways, you can meet everyone.” If it hadn’t been for Lexa taking Clarke’s hand to lead her over to the table she’d usually sat at, Clarke would’ve said no, would’ve gone outside and enjoyed the clear air filling her nostrils. Instead, she now sat at a table with Lexa, a girl who looked like the tall and brunette version of herself, and another, smaller brunette who shoved her hand out as soon as the pair made their way over.

“Hi, I’m Raven. Nice to meet the reason we haven’t seen Lexa the past week.” It wasn’t said maliciously, but matter-of-factly, and Clarke extended her hand in response.

“Clarke.” She gave a nod, and then looked to the intimidating brunette sitting next to her. Raven elbowed her in the side, mouthing, “ _be nice_ ” to Clarke’s surprise. She quirked an eyebrow at the interaction. It was humorous if anything. Raven’s wide eyes and soft features contrasted Anya’s high, sharp cheekbones and almost feline like eyes.

The girl opted for nodding at Clarke, “Anya.”

“Clarke,” she said, tilting her head in response.

Lexa took a breath in, putting her hands together, “Well, Clarke and I are going to go get some lunch, and then when we get back hopefully this won’t be so awkward.” With that, she turned on her heel and walked toward the steadily growing lunch line. Clarke offered a small smile before turning to follow, feeling equally as awkward as Lexa had just labeled the situation as.

She came to stand next to Lexa, “That went well, I think.”

“They’re nice, I promise. Raven just gets excited most of the time and Anya takes a while to warm up to new people.”

“Warm? I didn’t know she could do that.”  
Lexa giggled, lightly smacking Clarke on her upper arm, “Stop that, she’s nice. She was my first friend here.”

“You know you surprise me more and more everyday, Lex.” The nickname was new, had slipped out without Clarke meaning to let it, and it sounded melodious to Lexa. She tried to hide her reaction, opting for discussing lunch options instead.

When they made their way back to the table, Clarke had a plate full of chicken nuggets, green beans, and something that looked remotely like mashed potatoes, although Lexa even admitted she wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

As they sat down, Raven intertwined her fingers, putting her elbows up on the table and perching her chin on her hands.

“So…when did this start?” she said, looking between the two of them.

“Raven!” Lexa and Anya said in unison, the former in a tone of shock while the latter was said in warning. Anya’s eyes cut to her girlfriend.

“What? I’m not allowed to wonder about what our sweet, innocent Lexa has gotten herself into?”

Clarke went to speak, to try and defend whatever semblance of a friendship she and Lexa had, but was quickly cut off by the girl in question, who seemed ready to pounce across the table as she said, “I’m not sweet nor innocent.” The seriousness of her tone made the statement almost humorous, but all at the table could see in Lexa’s eyes that this wasn’t a time to laugh. “And furthermore, yes, Raven, you are allowed to wonder. However, wondering does not include questioning, vocally speculating, or any of the other things I know you’ve been dying to do.” Lexa leaned back in her seat, seemingly pleased. Anya let out a low whistle. Lexa smiled and looked to Clarke, who wasn’t sure what to make of the situation, “Don’t worry, I want to be a lawyer and that side just has to come out sometimes.”

Clarke nodded, relaxed again as the more cheerful side of Lexa seemed to return, “No, it suits you.”

“What does?”

“Dominance.” Clarke didn’t mean for it to come out the way it did, but judging by Raven and Anya’s expressions, let alone Lexa’s, her short statement suggested much more than she’d meant it to. “Oh, I-I didn’t mean-” Clarke didn’t bother trying to continue to justify her intentions, her face already burning.

Lexa giggled, giving the blonde a small smile and putting her hand on her forearm, “It’s okay. _I_ know what you mean.” Clarke smiled in return, but still remained mostly silent throughout the period. She couldn’t help but feel out of place with Lexa and her friends. In the pack, Clarke had Octavia and Murphy, sure, but there was still a clear divide between them and her. Clarke’s status did much to help her in life, but it also hurt her more than anything. She’d never gotten to experience how it felt to have real friends, not just the children of her father’s friends who were obligated to spend time with her.

Clarke sighed and stood, “I’m going to my locker. I’ll see you later. Raven, Anya, it was nice to meet you.” She wished that for once she could live how she wanted.

Lexa frowned at Clarke’s abrupt departure. She’d been enjoying the time spent with the other girl, thought it was nice to see her seem so human for once. Every time she’d seen her, Clarke always appeared to be in full control, confident in herself and aware of her effect on everyone else in the room. Seeing her not only feel out of place, but to _blush_ of all things, had been a refreshing change, one that Lexa had really enjoyed.

“Hello? Lexa?” Lexa swatted Raven’s hand out of her face where she had been waving it. “Are you okay? I’ve been saying your name for the past twenty minutes.”

Anya rolled her eyes affectionately, “Raven, it was thirty seconds at most.”

“Same thing. Either way, where were you? You know thinking that hard isn’t good for you.”

Lexa rolled her eyes at the girl, though with less warmth than Anya had, and stood. “I’m going to my locker. I’ll see you guys later.” She’d never admit it, but she’d been itching to leave since Clarke had, wanting to know where the blonde had gone so suddenly and why.

Raven and Anya both furrowed their brow in concern, but said nothing as Lexa made her way out of the cafeteria. Once she was out of earshot, Raven turned to her girlfriend, “That was weird. Was I the only one who thought that was weird?”

Anya shook her head, “No, you’re right. It was odd.”

“You just said I’m right!”

~0~

“Hey,” Lexa said, coming up behind Clarke, “is everything okay? You left out of nowhere at lunch and-”

“I just need some alone time right now. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Lexa said, but it was more to herself than to Clarke, as the other girl was already out of earshot, moving quickly through the hallway and keeping her head down. Lexa wanted to follow, but she knew it wasn’t her place to. Instead, she let her shoulders slump, disappointed and worried and annoyed at herself for coming on so strong as she usually did. She’d just wanted to be nice. Well, maybe she’d wanted more, but it wasn’t as if Clarke hadn’t reciprocated her flirting throughout the week. She sighed, forcing her face into a frown for a moment and then shaking her head. She was being stupid, and either way she had a history class to get to.

Clarke was weaving her way through the halls, already decided on skipping class. She needed to go for a run, needed to feel her lungs and muscles burn with effort. She broke out of the front double doors and heading directly for the woods in the back of the school, bypassing her car. She went into the forest line, not stopping until she was out of eyesight. Once she was sure she was safe, she stripped her clothes, folding them into a neat pile before she changed. She shook her fur, stretching her back out, before she took off. She knew these woods well after practically being raised in them, and she made her way through easily. When her lungs started to burn, she pushed harder until they felt on fire. It wasn’t fair she couldn’t be who or what she wanted, that she couldn’t be with who she wanted. Her father wanted her to marry Finn, a beta who would fare well as her second when she ultimately took over the pack one day, but she couldn’t bear to. He was cocky and full of himself and she hated his scent. He smelled nothing like Lexa. Clarke stopped dead, almost toppling over herself with the sudden change in speed. _Lexa._ She should’ve seen it coming, should’ve known from how her body was reacting to the green-eyed girl. Even so, it had barely been a week. Just realizing someone was your mate usually took a month at least. Clarke huffed, pawing at the ground. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

When Lexa didn’t see Clarke for the rest of the day, she started to worry. They had been meeting between seventh and eighth period since their classes were across the hall from each other, and then they’d walk out to their cars together. When Clarke had first seen Lexa’s car, she’d teased her about how it was probably the only black thing Lexa owned. Lexa didn’t admit to the blonde that she’d been right at the time, and she smiled faintly at the memory.

She made her way to her car after class, hoping to see Clarke but to no avail. However, instead of heading home as she usually did, she waited by her car, playing on her phone or chatting with people she knew, hoping that Clarke would make an appearance as her car was still sat in the lot. After twenty minutes, she’d started to feel like a creep just sitting there waiting for Clarke, and she made to get into her car and leave when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned, watching as Clarke emerged from the woods. From what Lexa could see, her hair was dirty, but she looked unhurt, and Lexa didn’t hesitate to rush to her.

Taking her by her biceps, she looked the blonde over, trying to find any obvious signs of injury, “Are you okay? What happened? If someone hurt you, I swear-”

Clarke laughed, “Lexa, no one hurt me. I’m okay. I just needed to go clear my head.”

“Oh, okay. Good.”

She hesitantly went to drop her hands from her arms, but Clarke caught Lexa’s them in her own, “Would you like to go on a date with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks again for reading! Sadly, I probably won't be able to have a regular update schedule due to traveling and the holidays, but I'll try to put out a new chapter within a week or so. Thanks again for the comments and kudos, I really appreciate them! As always, please let me know if there's anything you guys would like to see, and I'll try to fit it in.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Making this into a multi-chapter fic. I hope you guys like it, and let me know what you think, or if there's anything specific you want to see! Thanks for reading! Also: sorry the formatting seems off at the end. I type up the stories in word and then copy and paste it over, and I haven't figured out how to fix the formatting yet. If anyone has any tips, please let me know!


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